New Faces in High Places In January of 2013, Chrystine Tauber took over as president of the USEF after eventer David O’Conner finished eight years at the helm of the organization. She is halfway through her four-year term and seems well settled into her job at this point. She is eligible for another four-year term after this one is completed. If she chooses to run again the election would be in mid-2016 and her next term would begin in 2017. Chrystine comes from the hunter/jumper world and is an
international-level rider, coach, course designer and judge. As a junior rider she won both the prestigious ASPCA Maclay and USEF Medal equitation finals. She previously served as the USEF secretary and vice president of the United States Hunter Jumper Association, as well as sitting on the U.S. Show Jumping Hall of Fame Board of Directors. Her second year in office brought a major restructuring of
the board of directors, reducing the number of seats from 50 to 19 and a shift of rule-change discussions to the commit- tees before they are presented to the full board for a vote. In June 2014, the important role of USEF Chief Execu-
tive Officer was filled by a new face. After ten years, John Long retired and attor- ney Chris Welton was hired to take over the job the same month for a seamless transition. Chris is a Western plea- sure rider and his wife a former hunter/jumper competitor. He has a strong background in sports development and management. “The opportunity to
New USEF Chief Executive Officer Chris Welton addresses a lunch-time meeting in Kentucky, January 2015, during his first USEF Annual Meeting. He joined as CEO on June 1, 2014.
serve as the federation’s chief executive officer is tremendously excit- ing for me,” he says. “I ride because of the joy it gives me, and I look forward to working to grow participation in equestrian sport at the
national level and the visibility of horse sport in media, as well as the success of our elite riders in international compe- tition. Equestrian sport has been part of the human experi- ence from our earliest days and is a foundational sport within the Olympic movement. I look forward to applying my expe- rience and skills toward building upon the great foundation and standard that previous leaders have set.” On October 1, 2014, Will Connell from Great Britain
took over the position of USEF Director of Sport Programs. The position had been vacant for more than a year since 20-year USEF veteran employee Jim Wolf had departed on friendly terms to start his own company in the summer of 2013 (although he returned briefly under contract for the
2014 FEI Alltech World Equestrian Games). “With our
sights firmly set on the poten- tial of our great athletes and horses, I believe Will Connell will be an excel- lent addition to the Federa- tion’s senior staff,” remarks Chrys- tine Tauber. “He possesses both the experience and the proven track record to align the resources necessary to deliver on that potential. It is my pleasure to welcome Will to the USEF.”
After being involved with equestrian sports in Great Britain at the top level for many years, Will Connell took over the reins as USEF Director of Sport Programs in October 2014.
News from the Horse Breeders Committee A standing committee under USEF bylaws since the forma- tion of the USEF in 2003, the Breeders’ Committee’s (BC) members and officers are appointed by the USEF presi- dent, who gains input on possible candidates from, among others, the director of the USEF Horse Recording and Services Department.
Ken Ball is the current director of this department and he is also the liaison from the BC to the USEF. The current chair- woman of the committee is Chris Knox, of Chester- field, Idaho, a sport horse and pony breeder who has been involved with dressage, eventing and driving. Chris has served on the committee since 2003 and has been the chairwoman for three years. “We would love to foster a closer rela- tionship with all breeds. We are here to promote American-bred horses. I would be delighted to field questions and hear input from breeders,” she says. According to Chris,
there are three impor- tant projects and issues currently being addressed by the BC: the implementation of regular educational programs of interest to American horse breeders, either a series of symposia staged across the country or one symposium held in one place on a regu- lar basis; development of a USEF breeders’ directory and a
Ken Ball, the director of the USEF Horse Recording and Services Department, while at the World Federation of Sport Horse Breed- ers Annual Assembly in Denmark in 2009.
Warmbloods Today 81
Kim MacMillan/MacMillan Photography
Photo courtesy of Ken Ball/USEF
Kim MacMillan/MacMillan Photography
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